Stuffing holiday stockings with stock: purchasing through dividend reinvestment plans may be the best method.

Power Rangers and Barbie dolls may be Christmas favorites for kids, but their appeal may be short-lived. Instead, consider stuffing the Christmas stockings of the kids on your list with stock. It's a gift that's bound to be cherished long after toys are abandoned. And the gift just may pique a lifelong interest in regular investing.

Stock certificates are great presents for children and anyone else on your gift list, but securing stock for a minimal amount isn't always easy.

"If you're an `important' customer, your broker may handle a $100 trade for you," says Vita Nelson, editor and publisher of the Moneypaper, a newsletter based in Mamaroneck, N.Y. "However, most brokers don't want to be bothered." The problem with brokers that do handle small trades is that their commission could eat up half of a $100 stock purchase. One way to sidestep the fees is to enroll the recipient in a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP).

"These plans are offered by hundreds of major companies," Nelson says. "Usually you need only one share of stock to participate." The first rule of thumb is that the company must be publicly held, and secondly, the company must offer DRPs. The next step requires purchasing at least one share of the chosen company, and then the DRP is smooth sailing.

DRP participants not only get their dividends reinvested in new shares, they can also buy additional shares directly from the company without paying any brokers' commissions. For example, once your child or sister-in-law owns a share of Pepsico Inc., you could send in $100 monthly, quarterly or annually to increase the stake. By the way, Pepsico has a $10 minimum, not unusual for DRPs.

If you do buy that first share through a broker, be sure to hold the share in the recipient's name so that the person will be the shareholder of record and eligible for the DRP. If all else fails, call the Moneypaper. They will help you acquire single shares and enroll in DRPs for only $15.

Nelson's new newsletter, Kid$money (800-388-9993; $36 per year), includes youth-oriented financial information that should also be helpful. "For a total outlay of just over $100," Nelson says, "subscribers could own shares in Wendy's, Phillips Petroleum and Food Lion."

A word to the wise: When you buy stock for a child, you should hold the shares in a custodial account, naming yourself or another adult as custodian because a minor isn't allowed to enter into legal transactions. A custodial account gives the custodian control over the assets until the child turns 18, and then the assets in the account go to the child. In the meantime, giving stocks as gifts may motivate children to expand their portfolios by continuing to invest in later years.